ABCDiamond

$65,000 seems to work for us, but we don't eat out that often, and only one holiday per year, but we do have to fork out for running two cars (one used for daily commuting), plus $8,000 for the private school.
In a few years time when school is finished, then things will be looking very pretty, with an extra $150pw to blow

But this isn't for Sydney, although Sydney wasn't that much more expensive to live for most things. I lived in Sydney for 12 yrs, and Brisbane for 8 years.

freebo

There's no doubt accommodation cost plays a huge part. Having just arrived we need somewhere to live, and having decided not to buy a property immediately we’ll be renting. We’re soon to move into a house rental at a cost of $800 per week. Having looked on domain similar houses locally seem to be selling for somewhere between $800-$900k. If I owned the house mortgage/rent free that’s $800 per week I wouldn’t need to earn, and so I played with a salary calculator I (think) I worked out that an $800 pw salary increase is equivalent to a raise (or fall) of roughly $70,000 per year, so a mortgage/rent free household on e.g. $80,000 with an $800k house would have a similar disposable income of someone with no equity but a $150,000 salary.

Of course the above example may not be representative of that may people, the $80k earner is likely still to have a small mortgage (depending on age) and the $150k earner is likely to have some savings, the income on which would offset the rent, but it does show what a large proportion of income accommodation can represent.

ABCDiamond

You are right.

I just worked out how much income we would need, if we had an 80% mortgage on our current house.

My wife would need a pay rise of $53,000 to take us up to $118,000

What would be worse is that she may suggest I go out to work
I think I would consider a smaller house

freebo

No wonder you're so omnipresent on here, you bludger

pomtastic

Not having a car or mortgage is a financial winner, do you have family though or live on your own? I'm guessing with the 4 international holidays would be just yourself, exie when you have a wife and couple of kids on tow.

Do you have private medical insurance and insurance if you get injured and can't work no more?

I know families who get by on $65/70K a year but they don't bother with the above insurances. If you can't work due to a disability in Aus, Centrelink pay you about $240 a fortnight, not even enough to rent a room.

pomtastic

Exactly, it's got too expensive re the housing situation. And a 20% deposit is savings of about $100K+ (I'm guessing for an average Aussie home), quite a lot to save up for in your 20's with house prices doubling every 10 years (). they'd never save quick enough to get the 10-20% deposit needed.

ABCDiamond

I think these new buyers in their 20's should maybe not aim for the average home as a starter.

Times have changed I suppose, but in my 20's there was no way I could afford an average price home. It just wasn't even considered, unlike today obviously.

spottydog

Agreed, 2 bed flat in a rough part of London for us to start with, even then I remember friends saying they wouldn't buy a place because they couldn't afford the mortgage on a place similar to that they were used to living in as a rental (and this was after the big crash of the early 90's)

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Curtesy of Google Streetview... my first home. Doesn't look much different than when I had it 30yrs ago. Garden was better when I had it.

Amazulu

I bought a 2 bed flat in Croydon for approx 50k in 1998 - gotta start somewhere. I liked it, fairly close to everything and it had a big garden.

I can remember people at the time telling me I had paid too much, yadda, yadda - I sold it less than 4 years later for over 150k.

Kooky.

My last mortgage was GBP157 a month I bought a 3-bed stone, Victorian end terrace on the northern outskirts of Leeds in 1992 for 41500. It was the second purchase after my divorce (first one in 1990 was similar price but a flat). I loved that house and put a lot of work into it; replaced all the 1980s tat with character fittings; sweated over stripping those floors but it was worth it. Would possibly still be in it now if we hadn't left the country. Rented it out for a year at 550 (550-157=!) and then sold it in 2003 for about 110k.

Just bought a flat 2km from Sydney Central Station. Scary money to a girl from Yorkshire.

I've just looked at my old house on Google; those mock-sash windows I designed and had made are still looking fantastic. Shame about the door they've put on

Dreamy

I've just looked at our first house purchase in deepest, darkest Wales.

My God, but the main road looks chuffing narrow now that I'm used to the big wide roads around here!

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Lets see some piccies then... this has the makings of a thread in its own right... "My crappy first house"

Kooky.

My house wasn't crappy It wasn't my first either - I'd bought one previously with the ex and then the unlucky apartment. However this one was my first "home", I think.

I'm currently hiding from but listening to the removalist my husband is walking round our rental but google 24 Cowley Road, Rodley, LS13 and you'll see it. Not the poshest area in Leeds (the flat was in Roundhay, rather des res) but 2 mins walk from the canal path and a ton of pubs, nice villagey feel. They knocked down the old mill and built apartments, which you can see at the bottom of the road. NuShooz would know it well.

iamthecreaturefromuranus

Nice Mini outside next door.